The Special Connection
by multicoloredmango
Summary: Robin, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven leave for a regular mission, but an unexpected disaster occurs. The Titans are separated, Beast Boy is hurt, and Robin must pull through for his friends.


The Special Connection

Ch.1: The Flood

The Teen Titans had taken on very few missions that dragged them away from their home in Jump City, but this one was important enough to pursue. It involved the criminal Brother Blood, who had devised a plan to harness the energy of an important dam. And according to Robin's research, Brother Blood was plotting to use the energy from the dam to somehow power a new experimental machine that would enhance his partially robotic body. In the T-ship, the Titans were preparing for the fight to come.

"Aw, man, I really think that once I beat somebody, they should STAY beat, and NOT prance around with new robotic blueprints!" groaned Cyborg. Obviously, he had been the most irritated by the mission; after having various personal battles with Brother Blood, Cyborg was extremely annoyed when it came to bringing justice to the criminal.

Beast Boy chuckled. "Well at least he didn't steal them from you-know-who," he teased.

"Hey, you do know you're dealing with the man who knows exactly where the ejector switch on this baby is," shot back Cyborg.

"Well, you have my permission," Raven said.

"Hey! That is so not funny, I'm just—"

Beast Boy was cut off from Robin's interjection on the intercom: "Titans, we've almost reached our destination. Cyborg, make sure you make as little noise as you can when landing the T-ship."

"Sure thing," Cyborg replied.

"And Raven, can you sense if anyone is out there?"

"No, I'm not picking up any signs," she answered dully.

"Good. And Starfire—"

"Dude, she's not with us," Beast Boy interrupted. "Remember? She had to go to the Tamaran festival of….um, gargalslo—no, no, wait. Um, gargesl—garlgesso…AGH!

As Beast Boy struggled with the correct pronunciation of the Tamaran festival of which "Princess Starfire" was required to attend, Robin had already moved on, trying to find the perfect spot to land. He sighed, hoping that the mission wouldn't be too long. He didn't like being separated from his teammates. Especially Starfire.

Cyborg perfectly landed the T-ship, and after he set up a cloaking device to hide it, the team set off on their short hike. When the Titans reached the dam, Cyborg stopped the team and manipulated some buttons on his robotic arm.

"I'm picking up some high-frequency signals, most likely from a super- advanced machinery of some kind. That's gotta be Blood," he announced.

The rest of the team nodded, and they carefully infiltrated Brother Blood's base. Robin led the group, stopping here or there to make sure they weren't detected by Blood's minion robots that aimlessly wandered around the base. The Titans were almost at the door that Blood should have been behind, indicated by Cyborg's scans. After waiting for some robot guards to pass through, they would have their chance to launch a surprise attack, putting an end to Blood's plans.

Unfortunately, the Titans' plan would not be carried out when, as if on cue, Beast Boy sneezed. Loudly.

"ACHOO!"

One of the robot guards turned, hearing the loud noise, and started firing at the Beast Boy. "Yow!" he shrieked, getting the attention of more robots, which in turn started firing at the rest of the Titans. Sirens started going off, and red lights flashed angrily as the Teen Titans dodged the robots' attacks.

"Beast Boy!" Robin shouted.

"Yo, BB! What'd ya do that that for?"

"Look, I couldn't help it! My nose got all itchy and holding my breath didn't work so—ACHOO!"

"I see we have some intruders," commented another voice.

"Blood!" Robin and Cyborg both yelled to the direction the voice came from.

Suddenly, a robot, covered in Raven's magic powers was thrown at Blood. He dodged, just barely, and his amused sneer turned into a frown.

"How dare you throw MY minions!" Blood shouted. "That will be your last time to defy me, Titans! I will have my revenge!" Blood ran behind the door he had entered from.

"Titans, go!" Robin shouted.

As they entered the room, Blood was laughing. "Now the detonator is complete! Once I break this dam, all the electricity formed will be mine!" he exclaimed.

"He's gonna break the dam?" Beast Boy squeaked.

"Not if I can help it," Robin said confidently.

"Raven!" he yelled. "Cyborg!"

The two mentioned Titans instantly shot out of the building and flew to the dam, with Raven holding Cyborg. They knew what to do.

And so did Beast Boy and Robin. Together, they attacked Brother Blood with kicks, punches, claws, and teeth. Blood had put up a good fight, but after a long struggle, his energy was spent, and his robots had been reduced to broken metal parts strewn across the floor.

Robin stood above Blood. "Your plans end here," he said.

But Blood gave a tired smile, and drew out a remote. Beast Boy gulped. "Not when I have this! You haven't forgotten my plan have you? HA!" And he pushed a large button on the remote. But Robin didn't even flinch. Blood slowly stood up, preparing himself for the overwhelming power to come from the broken dam. But it never came. Blood was hysterical, and veins popped out on his head. "What is the meaning of this?" he screamed.

"My friends already took care of the situation," Robin stated calmly.

"Yeah!" Beast Boy added, clueless as to what exactly his friends had done.

Franticly, Blood raced to the window and saw—the dam had indeed been broken! So the detonator had worked…but why did the power not—

And then he saw it. Raven and Cyborg had created a new makeshift wall further down the river to stop the water from flowing to Blood's generator. Blood had been defeated, utterly and completely; there was no way to win now. Later, he was forcefully escorted to a police station, and would soon be transferred to jail. The team was done with their mission, and they gathered at their newly made dam.

"I think it's time to go," Raven said after a few minutes. She put her hood back on and started to walk to the T-ship. Beast Boy followed, then Cyborg and Robin. Suddenly, out of nowhere, an earthquake started.

"Whoa!" cried Beast Boy.

"Everyone, stay together!" Robin ordered.

Then, a loud crash was heard in the background, and it rattled the ground even more.

"The dam…it's!" Raven said as she turned around.

The three other Titans turned to see their dam, built crudely moments ago, shatter under the force of the earthquake.

"Everyone, make a path for the water to go so it doesn't reach the city!" Robin instructed.

Though it would be impossible to completely turn the huge amount of water around, there was still a way to move it so that it would pass by the city. Raven and Cyborg used their powers to dig through the ground and make a channel for the water to flow through while Beast Boy and Robin cleared away the trees. It was excruciatingly tiring work for the Titans, especially since they had battled Brother Blood not too long ago. Beast Boy was feeling it the most. He and Robin had to outrun the coursing water to move the blockade of trees. Beast Boy's breath was ragged and strained, his body was tense, and his head was in pain. He was running, running, running and couldn't stop, even if his body wanted to. Raven was also drained, and her hands were beginning to tremble. She called out to Robin, and he gave the okay to end it. Finally, Raven and Cyborg stopped channeling the water, for there was no chance that it would flow to the city. Robin jumped out of the way of the still-coursing river and smiled triumphantly to his tired friends. But wait—he was missing one.

"Beast Boy! What are you doing?" he called to the green changeling who had fallen to his knees, panting.

"BB!" cried Cyborg.

The channeled water was rushing toward him at great speed; if Beast Boy didn't get out fast, he would be swept away.

Raven gasped.

"Yo, BB!" cried Cyborg again, "Come on! No jokes, alright? Move it!"

But Beast Boy hadn't even heard any of his friends' cries. His ears were ringing and he felt as if his head was about to explode. His chest was so tight, he could hardly breathe. He struggled to get up, but all he could do was watch his shaking arms fail him. He felt himself fall.

Finally, it dawned on Cyborg, Raven, and Robin—Beast Boy was seriously in trouble, and in seconds the fast current of water would smash right into him. Robin and Cyborg charged toward Beast Boy, while Raven swiftly flew overhead. Robin, the fastest of the team, reached Beast Boy first and firmly pulled him over his shoulder. Beast Boy whimpered in pain. Cyborg caught up and reached out to help his fallen friend, but all was too late and the flood of water crashed into the Titans, separating them. Robin held tight to Beast Boy as the two were forcefully swept away in the dangerous current.

"AAAH! My circuits! The water's damaging my system!" gargled Cyborg, who was powerless in water. He was suddenly picked up by Raven, who had managed to escape the current, and was returned to dry land.

After getting to his senses, and resting a bit, Cyborg suddenly remembered and asked, "Where's Robin and BB?"

Raven's head dropped. "I don't know," she whispered. "I could only find you."

The two looked out into the distance. The water had already flowed several miles out ahead, meaning Robin and Beast boy could be anywhere by then.

Ch. 2 The Aftermath

Robin held onto Beast Boy as hard as he could as he was carried by the tumbling current. All he heard was the rumble of the water that had surrounded him. He started kicking with his legs, not knowing which way was up, but the current kept flipping and turning the two Titans. All Robin saw was sand swirling around him, and few times he could see where the sky was, but he had absolutely no sense of direction. He determinedly tried to kick to the surface.

Beast Boy was absolutely terrified. When Beast Boy opened his mouth to scream, his mouth filled with water. He started to cough it out but more water entered his lungs. His only comfort was Robin's strong hold on him, and he desperately held Robin back. Beast Boy could no longer hear the grumble of the churning water, and slowly his sight and consciousness started to slip away.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, the two Titan boys broke the surface. Robin, with his last once of strength, was able to push himself and Beast Boy out of the current's way and onto the soaked ground. For several long minutes, the boys just stayed in their huddled position, Robin still holding onto Beast Boy. The only thing they had strength left to do was breathe, and for Beast Boy, even that was proving to be a challenge.

Robin painstakingly sat up, his teammate still breathing hard on his lap. He looked over his own injuries and was thankfully only given a few bad bruises and scrapes. He then turned to his friend. "Beast Boy," he said gently, not knowing where to start, "what was wrong?"

To this, all Beast Boy could say was, "Hurts."

"What hurts?" Robin said more firmly. "Tell me. I need to know what situation we're in." But the green Titan did not reply. Robin decided to move Beast Boy and placed him flat on the ground to assess what injuries his green friend had accumulated. Beast Boy's face scrunched up and he let out a small, pained sound. This did not sound good to Robin.

"Okay, Beast Boy. I'm going to put some pressure in some areas and I want you to tell me where it hurts."

"Ok," whispered Beast Boy. He closed his eyes.

When Robin got to his ribs, Beast Boy let out a high-pitched yelp. "Beast Boy, I think one or two of your ribs are broken," Robin said miserably. "I'm really sorry and I know this is going to hurt, but I have to check it out." Robin pulled up Beast Boy's shirt of his sopping wet uniform.

By the end of Robin's injury assessment, Beast Boy was in so much pain, he was seeing stars. His breath was coming out in short gasps and he struggled to get a full lungful of air. Robin concluded that Beast Boy had one broken and several badly bruised ribs. Robin was relieved that nothing was life-threatening, but also knew the situation was going to be tough to handle, for Beast Boy was still in no condition to walk all the way back to the T-ship. In fact, even if they tried to look for the T-ship, they might become more lost.

Robin sighed. He would have to wait for Cyborg and Raven. He was sure they were fine, and already looking for him and Beast Boy.

Robin was right. As soon as Cyborg and Raven had trudged back to the T-ship and dried themselves off, they hastily scrambled to find their friends' whereabouts. Thanks to the homing device on Robin's uniform, they successfully pinned the location of their friends—5 miles away. It was amazing how the dam water had taken them so far.

Cyborg started up the engine of the T-ship and typed in the coordinates of their friends' current position. The machine roared to life and took off into the air—for a few seconds. Raven frowned and looked at Cyborg. "Don't tell me this thing is damaged, too," she said angrily.

Cyborg loudly bonked his head against the ship's panels in frustration. "Not my baby!" he cried.

"How long will it take?" Raven asked.

"According to my sensors, the power core has been shot, and the fusion generator doesn't have enough energy cells to rejuvenate it, meaning…."

"Meaning?"

Cyborg sighed. "It's gonna be a few days, Raven. That's the fastest I can get the T-ship running."

"But—" Raven caught herself, and took a deep breath. "What about Robin and Beast Boy?"

"Man, I know, but we just gotta…do what we gotta do. I promise—it's just a few days. I'm sure Robin and BB can hold out for that long." Cyborg and Raven both hoped that their friends were okay, that they weren't facing any trouble.

Unfortunately, that wasn't so for Beast Boy. Tears started to form in his eyes as his headache and chest pain grew worse. He and Robin were both shaking from the cold. Though their suits had dried, the sun had already gone down and the forest of trees provided little warmth in the nighttime. A small fire had been made by Robin, and he positioned himself and Beast Boy next to it. Neither had talked much to each other since Robin had been busy with setting up a lean-to shelter and making the fire.

Robin looked across the fire to Beast Boy, still lying on his back. All of a sudden, Robin noticed his friend's tears and was worried. Dropping himself next to Beast Boy, he said, "What's wrong? Is it your chest?"

Beast Boy shook his head slowly, and Robin noticed beads of sweat had collected on his forehead. "M-my head…" Beast Boy whimpered. Robin went to feel Beast Boy's head and gasped.

"Beast Boy! You have a high fever!" Robin exclaimed. That must've been why Beast Boy had been in so much pain. Not only was his body externally injured, internally Beast Boy was battling an illness as well. "But," Robin pondered aloud, "fevers take at least 24 hours to manifest…so it couldn't have been from today." He looked back at his feverish friend.

"I've had…ngh" Beast Boy winced from talking, "a cold…from yesterday…"

"What? Why didn't you tell me? Wait…that means your sneezing during the mission….and the reason for not getting away—was because of that? " Robin asked heatedly.

Beast Boy opened his mouth to answer, but immediately he snapped his eyes shut, experiencing a wave of pain. When it was over, Robin said more gently, "Beast Boy, if you had told me that you were sick—even if it was just a small cold—I would've made sure that you didn't overexert yourself. You have to trust me, okay?" Robin felt that the youngest and smallest member of the team was the most important to look after, and hoped that next time Beast Boy would trust his leader enough to ask for help.

The green Titan gave his trademark smile and wiped his tears. He looked down at Robin's scratches and bruises. Though they paled in comparison to his injuries, he felt extremely guilty. "Sorry…the water…" he tried to explain his apology, but his head hurt too much.

But Robin understood what Beast Boy meant. "No, no. It's not your fault. I'm sure Cyborg and Raven feel the same way, too," Robin said as he looked to the horizon. Where were they? He knew that Raven had escaped the water's wrath, and since Cyborg wasn't with them, that probably meant that Raven had pulled him out. He figured that it was still a good idea to stay put and wait until at least Beast Boy had somewhat recovered. He looked down at his friend, who had fallen asleep. A strained expression remained on his face, but it looked more relaxed. Robin decided that it was time to turn in for the night as well. He carefully scooped Beast Boy up in his arms and laid the boy down in the lean-to shelter. Robin slept next to Beast Boy to make sure they would be warm enough throughout the night.

At dawn, Robin woke up from hearing Beast Boy softly coughing. Robin sat straight up and tenderly felt his green friend's forehead. The teen's fever had not come down. And unfortunately, though Beast Boy's cough wasn't serious, the pain it caused to his heavily bruised ribs made Beast Boy double over in agony. He was whimpering from the pain.

"Ah…Robin, I—" Beast Boy started but was cut off by more coughing and pain that followed.

"Beast Boy, you're gonna be okay. I'm going to sit you up so that you'll stop coughing, alright?" Robin said. He placed a hand on Beast Boy's back and stomach and gradually brought him up to a sitting position. Beast Boy let out a small cry and trembled as his strength left him. Robin leaned the teen against a side of the shelter and started to rub his friend's back, hoping to soothe his body. After a while, Beast Boy stopped coughing and closed his eyes again, thankful that his chest pain had mostly subsided. Robin sighed with relief.

"Thank you," Beast Boy said. He weakly smiled. Robin sat next to Beast Boy and ruffled his matted hair.

"How're you feeling?" Robin asked.

"My head feels better, but…" Beast Boy trailed off. It was obvious he was still far from being healthy.

"Are you hungry?"

"Not really."

"How about some water?"

"Dude," Beast Boy said with a faint smile, "that would be sweet."

Robin smiled back and headed out to a small stream that was the remains of yesterday's river. He returned to Beast Boy with a canteen full of water. He lowered himself next to his friend and put the canteen to the young boy's lips. "I can do it," whined Beast Boy.

"No," replied Robin. "Save your strength." Beast Boy drank half the canteen and then told Robin to drink the rest. Robin said no again, and made sure that Beast Boy drank all the water. It was important to keep him hydrated. To keep Beast Boy distracted from his pain, Robin engaged him in small conversations throughout the afternoon. Beast Boy couldn't resist making jokes, and although they weren't the least bit funny, Robin still smiled at his friend's weak attempt at cheering them up. The two boys really enjoyed their time together, and Robin held his optimism that Cyborg and Raven would come through for them.

But as the evening rolled around, Beast Boy started getting worse again; he had trouble breathing and his breath came out in pants, perspiration appeared on his forehead and body, and his headache was back. Robin was sad to see Beast Boy's smile fade to a strained face, mouth open from his labored breathing.

"Don't worry," Robin calmed Beast Boy, "you'll get through this."

"Y-yeah…" Beast Boy murmured. He started to shiver.

"You cold?"

"M-" Beast Boy could only respond. Robin grew more worried as the Titan's fever worsened. Robin squeezed closer to Beast Boy, put a hand around his waist, and started to rub his back again. The Titan hoped that this would bring warmth to the shivering teen.

"Nn..Robin…really hurts," Beast Boy whimpered.

"I'm sorry," Robin said. Truly, he wanted Beast Boy to get better, but nothing could be done except wait for help. Though Robin hated to be in this situation—dependent on someone else to pull through—he couldn't bear to leave his friend's side. After all, he was responsible for everyone on the team. If only he had Starfire's strength or Raven's flying ability…but he didn't, so he had to cut his losses.

"Rrg…" Beast Boy pitifully cried. Robin petted the boy's hair which was damp with sweat. He looked out at the sun, just minutes away from disappearing over the horizon. This meant that the atmosphere would turn cold very soon, which would cause Beast Boy more discomfort. Robin was getting anxious. What were Cyborg and Raven doing? Could they be hurt as well? Robin returned to soothing Beast Boy and hoped for the best. If worst came to worst, he would have to carry his friend all the way to—

Robin's train of thought cut off as he heard a familiar sound…. the T-ship! He smiled widely. Great timing, guys. Great timing.

As soon as the T-ship had landed near the two huddled Titans, Cyborg came bounding out with a loud "Booyah!", and Raven followed behind.

"Hey you guys," Robin said, "it's been a while."

"Yeah…seems like it's been a long time, right?" Cyborg's tone turned more somber after looking at Beast Boy. His eyes followed Raven as she raced to Beast Boy's side. "How's he doing?" Cyborg knelt down to get a closer look at Beast Boy's condition.

"Not that good, I'm afraid. He's got some beat-up ribs and a high fever. And it's starting to get worse." Robin felt Beast Boy stir and looked down. The green Titan opened his eyes slowly.

"Hey…you made it," Beast Boy slurred, noticing the two new Titans by his side. He winced and blinked his eyes.

"Hey, BB. You're gonna be okay, you hear me? We're going home right now," Cyborg whispered to his friend. It killed him to see Beast Boy in such a pitiful state. Raven could barely hide her concern for her friend as well. Robin slowly got up with Beast Boy in his arms and handed the green Titan over to Cyborg.

"Ah-" Beast Boy cringed in pain. "My chest…agh.."

"Sorry, buddy," Cyborg apologized.

Agonizingly, Cyborg carried the small, green Titan into the T-ship and laid him down on a floor that was covered with pillows. Robin put his hand over Beast Boy's warm head.

"We made it, Beast Boy," he said. "Good job." He started to walk out of the room.

"Robin?" said Beast Boy in a faint voice. Robin came back to his friend's side. "Thanks." Beast Boy gave a wide smile.

Robin smiled back. "Anytime," he replied. He watched Beast Boy's eyes close, and exited the room.

Finally, the four Titans started to make their way back home, eager to give proper treatment for Beast Boy and meet up with Starfire. Robin sighed, small smile reaching his lips. Though his mission had been a complete catastrophe, he had gained a special relationship with the youngest Titan, Beast Boy. Starfire obviously was an entirely different story—but it was good to have special relationships with others, too. He hoped that the Titan also felt a special connection. And with that thought, Robin drifted off to a well-deserved sleep.


End file.
